Bumgarner attains World Series lore

Giants lefty threw eight scoreless innings in Game 4

Rookie Madison Bumgarner threw eight scoreless innings in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night and put the Giants in prime position to win the 2010 World Series.

"That kid, I can't say enough about what he did tonight," manager Bruce Bochy told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I mean, a 21-year-old kid on that stage, pitching like that. He's a man. A very special talent, and we're grateful we have him."

"I mean, it takes you back to guys like Fernando [Valenzuela], Dwight Gooden, the benchmarks for guys who came up young," pitching coach Dave Righetti said.

Bumgarner and Buster Posey became the youngest World Series battery since Spec Shea and Yogi Berra teamed up for the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 1947 World Series.

Bumgarner allowed just three hits and five baserunners.

"He's fearless, man," teammate Aubrey Huff told the San Jose Mercury News. "Madison came to the yard today, and you could see he was just chilling. Nothing really bothers him. He's just a big 21-year-old kid out there with a funky delivery and attacks the zone."

Bumgarner revealed his youth when his closest comparison to pitching in the World Series was the North Carolina state high school baseball championship.

"At the time, as a high school player, that's the biggest game I had played in," Bumgarner said. "Now, obviously, this is way bigger."

Moreland battles his way to success: Mitch Moreland didn't get too excited about his at-bat that ended with a three-run homer in Game 3 of the World Series.

"He's just a battler," Rangers manager Ron Washington told the Houston Chronicle. "He goes up there, and he uses every bit of talent he has. He fights, and when he gets his pitch, he don't usually miss it."

Renteria shining again in fall: Edgar Renteria, who had three hits in Game 4 of the World Series, continues to lead by example.

"Edgar has been through it," Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the San Jose Mercury News. "Guys look up to him. He's really a calming influence, I think, on everybody else in the way he plays and how he plays to win. He's really lifted this club. He's had a tough year with the injuries, but it's probably benefited him a little bit, because he's fresh."

Huff gets on the board with first homer of Series: Aubrey Huff, who led the Giants during the regular season with 26 home runs, finally hit the first of his postseason in Game 4.

He had 14 hits, including 12 singles, but no homers before his towering two-run shot down the right-field line in Texas on Sunday night.

"It's certainly special," Huff told the San Jose Mercury News. "It's in the back of your mind, you'd like to hit a big homer to put your team ahead. It's pretty surreal right now."

Lewis not a surprise to Molina: After winning Game 3 of the World Series, the Rangers are 3-0 in Colby Lewis' last three postseason starts. In four postseason starts, Lewis has a 1.71 ERA.

"Colby's been doing the job for the whole season," teammate Bengie Molina told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I don't think this is a surprise for anybody in this clubhouse. The way he pitched today is the way he pitched the whole year. We didn't give him any run support during the year, and he didn't look like he was having a good year."

Wilson plans to attack blister: C.J. Wilson is accustomed to pitching with a left middle finger that blisters, but he plans to either remedy the situation or put it to advantage going forward.

"I think this offseason I'll do a lot of woodwork, soak my hands in pine tar and take a lot of batting practice," Wilson told the Houston Chronicle. "I need to learn to throw a spitball this offseason so I can effectively pitch with blood on my fingers."

Uribe gets high marks from Guillen: Juan Uribe, who played in Chicago under White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, has had his fair share of moments in the Fall Classic, including in Game 2 of the 2010 World Series.

"Uribe, he gets it done ugly, but he gets it done," Guillen told the Chicago Sun-Times. "One thing about it, on the big stage, in a big series, he's not going to get scared. He's never going to panic or get nervous. That's why I always think he is going to come up big."

Lee taking mound in Game 5: Cliff Lee, who has been spectacular this postseason, aside from a subpar performance in Game 4, was prepared to pitch for the Rangers in their must-win situation on Monday night.

"Cliff's confidence is never going to waver," teammate C.J. Wilson told MLB.com. "With everything he's been through in his career, he's earned the right to pitch with supreme confidence."

Votto claims NL Hank Aaron Award: Jose Bautista and Joey Votto were announced as the winners of the Hank Aaraon Award for their respective leagues in a pregame ceremony prior to Game 4 of the World Series.

"This is the first award that I've won in my career, and if it's the last one, what a great honor," Votto told MLB.com. "You know, I was voted into the All-Star Game by the fans, and this is another fan award, so that means a tremendous amount to me."

Bautista hit a club-record 54 home runs to lead all Major League players.

"I got the opportunity to play every day," Bautista told MLB.com. "I've got to thank the Toronto Blue Jays for that. And then I made a lot of adjustments. I changed my approach to hitting. I became more aggressive, and I also kind of tweaked the way I prepare myself.

"I start my swing on my load earlier, on the pitcher's delivery, and that allowed me to attack the baseball more."

Lohse gets a jump on next season: Kyle Lohse wants to build on his last outing of 2010.

"I changed a couple things mechanically with my windup. I just wanted to go out there and tinker around and see what things I can mess with and take into the offseason and improve, so it was a good way to go out. I just felt like experimenting," Lohse told foxsportsmidwest.com. "It's been such a long year trying to get everything right. I just wanted to have fun and see if something worked, and it did. My stuff was definitely sharp."

Mesoraco turns in big year: Reds prospect Devin Mesoraco put himself in position to battle for a Major League job, batting .302 with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs between Double-A Carolina and Triple-A Louisville.

"He had an outstanding year. He had success at every level,"general manager Walt Jocketty told MLB.com. "You could see it at Spring Training that he had turned a corner and became the prospect we thought he'd be when he was drafted. We'll see where he stands at Spring Training next year. There's not much more we could have asked of him."